Scholar-in-Community Fellowship

The Faculty of Social Sciences invites applications for the 2019 Scholar-in-Community Fellowship.

Scholar-in-Community Fellowship

The Scholar-in-Community Fellowship provides the opportunity for research collaborations with community organizations to produce and mobilize knowledge in ways that are mutually beneficial. The program will fund:

a half-course release for one Social Sciences faculty member to work with an existing research partner on a mutually defined research project, to be co-designed and co-governed over the course of the project ($7500) (timing of course release to be negotiated with Chair/Director)

salary replacement for a staff member from host organization to work with the faculty researcher ($7500) OR $7500 towards a graduate student research intern (contact Cynthia Belaskie belaski@mcmaster.ca for more information on the intern option)

Project duration should be between 12 and 18 months. It is expected that recipients of the Fellowship will apply for external funding within 12 months of completing the Scholar-in-Community project.

Description

The goal of the Scholar-in-Community Fellowship is to support and recognize social science research collaborations with community organizations in the Hamilton region. The program’s objectives are to:

strengthen existing (or initiated) collaborations between Faculty of Social Science researchers and community partners

conduct research and/or knowledge mobilization activities that demonstrably provide direct value to the “host” community organization

build the foundation for development of partnered research proposals

recognize, promote and learn from the community-engaged research endeavours of Faculty of Social Science researchers

Value

The Faculty of Social Sciences will fund one collaborative community-engaged project per year, to a total value of $15,000, jointly supporting a community researcher and a researcher from the Faculty.

An additional $2,000 will be awarded if a grant application is submitted within 1 year of completing the Scholar-in-Community project.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the Scholar-in-Community Fellowship an applicant must be a member of McMaster University’s Faculty of Social Sciences with a teaching, tenured or tenure-stream appointment working with a researcher or staff member from a community organization in the Hamilton region. Ideally partner organizations will be geographically close enough that face to face interaction is possible. Where host organizations are located outside the region, applicants should explain how they plan to build relationships at a distance.

Application Timeline

Notice of Intent: Friday April 6, 2018

Full Application: Monday April 30, 2018

Results announced:

TBD

To Apply

Notice of Intent:

Please send an email to Christine Hollins hollinc@mcmaster.ca that includes:

The name of your community partner and organization

Project title

Project summary of no more than 4 sentences.

Full Proposal: Those selected to proceed to full proposal will please provide a CV in any format, a project description of up to 3-pages, and a brief statement of support from the collaborating organization (email accepted). Send the three documents in a single email to Christine Hollins hollinc@mcmaster.ca by 9:00 am April 30th.

The proposal will include:

Objectives

Context

Relevant experience of applicant and community organization lead and description of existing partnership

Methods

Activities and timeline (including responsibilities)

Knowledge mobilization plan

Expected outcomes and benefits to partner organization

Plan to seek external funding

The Statement of Support will include:

The name and contact details of the interested partner and an acknowledgement that the organization is willing to release staff for the research related activities stated in the application.

Funded projects will be expected to apply for an external research grant within 12 months of completion.

Evaluation Criteria

Clarity, focus and feasibility of the research objectives, research plan, and knowledge mobilization plan;

Significance of research project to partner organization

Contribution to building and sustaining a longer term research relationship

Overall contribution of the research to the candidate’s long-range research plan;

Feasibility of plan to secure external funding;

Applicant’s scholarly and community-engagement contributions relative to the stage of career (e.g., publications, conference presentations over the last five years; community-oriented or co-created reports, presentations, workshops).

Adjudication

This fellowship will be adjudicated by a Scholar-in-Community selection committee constituted by the Dean of Social Sciences.